Min & Johnny
by DreamWvr73
Summary: A series that combines an a created character from the Dukes of Hazzard and Emergency-- A new woman comes into Johnny's life, will she complicate it or not?


"Come on Bo be serious do you really think that we can get someone like _that_ to come to our little club?" Min Duke shook her head. "You have to be nuts to think that a big act like _Red Sands_ is going to be able to play at the club."

"What? They aren't that popular." Bo Duke was behind the wheel of his little sister's '66 Mustang, they were heading down to Long Beach on one of their bimonthly scouting trips. The pair of siblings was looking for new talent to bring to their club. 

"They are big enough Bo, I'm sure they are probably impossible to book."

"Well we won't know until we get to Farley's."

Bo looked at his watch and realized that if they didn't hurry they were going to miss the show, he hit the gas pedal and the little car burst into life.

"Hey don't you play rough with this car!" Min scolded as they suddenly sped up.

"Oh relax!" Bo drove with a lot of confidence as he blew past many cars in the passing lane. He would wait 'til almost the last second before he would cross back over into his lane. It scared the heck out of his sister and she opened her mouth to yell at him when he came back into his lane going too fast, he lost control of the car and went off the side of the road.

Min screamed as the road was suddenly gone, replaced with a lot of grass and bushes that were coming right at them. The hill was bumpy and the young woman and her brother were slamming against each other as it went screaming down the hill. The mustang suddenly hit a huge rock and went into the air briefly before it landed on its right side. 

The force threw Min forward, slamming her head into the dash; it was sharp and she could feel the warm blood running down her face. There was a sound like wind chimes and her face and neck started to sting as bits and pieces of glass tinkled all around her. She turned to see where it came from and noticed the window was not only gone it was obliterated. 

That whole side seemed to be crunched in as though it had been flattened by a giant press. The car felt as though it was in motion, it reminded her of being in an elevator that was going too fast except the motion was more side to side that it was up and down. The motion stopped in an instant and Min felt the car suddenly take a nose dive. Everything seemed to go very slow, the air was still and she thought for a moment that they were not moving at all. 

There was a huge crashing sound and the dash board suddenly came right at her, she gasped as the huge amount of weight pressed down on her legs. Everything was quiet, like the whole world had shattered like glass; every part of her body ached like she had been wadded up like a tissue. There was a coppery taste of blood in her mouth and her chest felt as though a belt had been tied around it and someone was tightening it. 

_We have to get out of here, we need help…_ Min tried to think of how she was going to get them help but she was too rattled and disoriented to think of anything. She leaned back in her seat; she had this terrible urge to go to sleep and was slowly loosing the battle. The last thing she saw before she lost the battle was the ground right outside the broken windshield, she realized then that the car was on its side but at that precise moment there was nothing she could do about it. 

_Station 51, Squad 51, accident, highway 5 half mile past Topcat Canyon..time out 13: 21_

Roy DeSoto and Johnny Gage looked at each other. "That's a weird address, I hope we can find it."

"Don't worry Roy we'll find it." Johnny got into the squad and fastened his helmet under his chin. He picked up the map and looked it over as Roy started up the truck. The engine was close behind as they entered the 5 freeway.

"According to the map it should be only a few miles ahead."

"No problem, we have to keep our eyes open, hopefully we'll be able to find it with no trouble."

The freeway was empty as the two red fire trucks headed towards the Topcat Canyon exit.

"It should be the next exit."

"Yeah I see it."

Roy exited off of highway 5 and drove slowly down the frontage road searching for any sign of the accident they had been called about.

"Wait a second, I see where the road and the hill meet, it has to be over there."

Roy pulled the squad over and the engine followed, Johnny was the first out of the truck and looked over the edge. He couldn't see the car but he saw the damaged bushes and flattened grass.

"I don't see the car but the grass and stuff down there looks like its been run over. They have to be down there, let's secure a rope; I'll go take a peek."

Roy took two bundles of rope out of the squad, handing one to Johnny who slung it over his shoulder. Roy secured the other end to the bumper of the squad and pulled on it once to make sure it was tight.

"Okay Johnny, just be careful that embankment looks pretty steep."

"When I get an idea of what's down there I'll radio you and you can follow."

Johnny made sure his little bag was securely around his chest as he began his descent to the bottom of the embankment; he made it down there in only a few minutes and disconnected himself from the rope. He could see where something big had hit and had skied down the rest of the hill. The ground got a little steeper but he kept his feet firm and was able to make it down without any problem. He finally spotted the car, it was lying on its right side, Johnny took his radio off of his belt.

"Roy, I found the car, it's at the very bottom."

_"How does it look?"_

"It's lying on the passenger side, that half of the car looks pretty crushed. You and the guys better get down here so we can flatten out this car and see whose inside."

_"10-4 Johnny we'll be down in a minute."_

Johnny replaced his radio and tried to put the car down on 4 wheels again but he wasn't strong enough. He looked inside the car and saw two people inside, one of whom was awake.

"Just hang on a second, help is on the way."

Bo looked up at the dark haired man who was peeking through the windshield. "My sister…she's bleeding, the dash board is pressing against her legs."

"Okay but what about you, are you hurt anywhere?"

"I..I don't think so, my head hurts a little but I think I hit it on the steering wheel."

"Just try and stay calm all right?"

Bo nodded his head. "Okay."

The whole station suddenly appeared at the bottom of the embankment and Johnny was glad that they made it down there so fast. Johnny looked back down at the blond headed man.

"Everyone is here now so we are going to try and get this car back on all 4 wheels, all right?"

"Okay, just hurry."

"We will, what's your name?"

"Bo, Bo Duke."

"All right Bo you just hang tight,"

Johnny disappeared from the windshield and moved over by the hood. "Okay guys let's see if we can get this car down."

The 6 men all pulled on the car at the same tight and then stepped back as it came crashing down, Roy immediately opened the driver's side door. Bo was bleeding a little from his forehead.

"Your name was Bo right? I'm Roy are you hurt anywhere else?"

Roy took a piece of gauze and pressed it to the small cut on his forehead.  The blond man shook his head a little. "The steering wheel got my head I think that's it; my sister is the one that needs help."

Johnny, Captain Stanley and Chet were all at the passenger side door, it was crushed in badly. "I think we're going to need the K12 to get this door open."

Captain Stanley nodded. "Yeah we better get it, come on Chet."

The two men ran back up the hill and Johnny went around the car and helped Roy.

"How is he?"

Roy took the stethoscope out of his ears. "Fine, he's going to have a nice lump on his head but that's all."

Johnny nodded and looked at the blond man. "I'm Johnny Gage by the way; do you think you can stand up?"

"I think so."

The two men stepped back as Bo got out of the car, Roy immediately sat him down on the ground.

"Just sit tight, we want to make sure you really are all right."

"Roy why don't you give Rampart a call and see if they want us to bring him in."

Roy picked up the biophone. "What about you?"

"I'm going to see if I can get to his sister this way. The door is badly crushed, they went to get the K12."

Johnny slid behind the bent wheel of the Mustang and scooted over as close as he could, Bo's sister was lying against the backseat, her long dark hair was covering her face and the dash board was practically in her lap. He smoothed the hair away from her face, her head was bleeding badly and there were small cuts on her face and neck.

"Roy hand me the stethoscope." 

Johnny took the pen light out of his pocket and checked her pupils, they were not reacting properly. He checked her pulse and it was rapid. He moved back and watched the way she breathed and he touched her sides gently.

"How is she doing Johnny?"

He put the cuff on her and pumped it up; he listened to it and deflated it. "Her blood pressure is a little low, 100 over 20, her breathing is thready and her pupils are unequal and reactive."

"Sounds like she is going into shock; let me call it in."

Bo listened to all this, a sense of panic flooding through him. He had been the one that had caused the accident and if his sister was hurt bad he'd never forgive himself.

"Is she going to be okay Johnny?"

"We won't know until we get her out of here."

Roy picked up the biophone. "Rampart this is 51, have update on second victim."

_"Go ahead 51."_

"Rampart the second victim is female, age 25, she is still trapped in vehicle but we were able to examine her. BP is 100 over 20, respiration is thready and pupils are unequal and reactive."

_"51 is there any sign of trauma?"_

"Affirmative Rampart, head trauma."

_"Roger that 51, start IVwith Ringers Lactate wide open, get her out of there as fast as you can, keep me updated."_

"10-4 Rampart."

Roy put down the biophone. "Johnny we can start IV, do you have the room?"

"Yeah just hand me the stuff."

Roy opened the drug box and handed his partner everything he needed to start the IV. 

Johnny started it in her arm and secured it with tape, he looked around to see if there was a way to get the young woman out but he didn't see it.

"Roy there's no way I can get her out of here from this end."

"Well then get out of there."

Johnny started to move when he heard a sound, he looked at the young woman and saw that her eyes were opening, they were full of questions. 

"Where…?"

Johnny looked out of the open car door to see that the ambulance was loading her brother onto a stretcher. "Hey Bo what's your sister's name?"

Bo was being strapped down. "Min, her name is Min."

Johnny smiled at her. "It's all right Min, you've been in an accident, everything is going to be all right."

She lifted her hand to touch her face and saw the IV sticking out of her arm; she turned to see the paramedic where her brother was supposed to be. "Bo?"

"The ambulance is taking him to Rampart, he's fine, how do you feel?"

Min was having a hard time breathing and her legs were hurting her. "Hurts..to breathe.. my legs hurt too."

Johnny watched as the firemen were loading the saw onto the K12 and getting ready to start it up. "I know they do Min you have to stay calm and relax, okay?"

"I'm scared."

Johnny smiled at the young woman and touched her arm. "I know but you're going to be just fine."

Chet pulled back the cord and the K12 came to life, they put it on the door and began cutting. Min heard that sound and started to panic.   
"What…what is that?"

"Easy now Min it's just the saw, they are trying to get your door open so we can get you out of here."

She tried to take a deep breath and got a sharp jolt of pain, a wave of dizziness hit her and everything went black. Johnny saw that she was out again, he checked her pupils again.

Roy stood on the other side of the car helping the men cut it open. "Is she out again?" He asked his partner through the windshield.

"Yeah I think that's for the best considering all the cutting you guys might have to do to get her out."

Chet finished cutting the door jam and shut off the K12. "Okay let's see if we can get it open." 

Marco stuck a crowbar into the edge and everyone tried to wedge it open, it refused to move.

"It won't move Cap, now what?"

Captain Stanley thought about it for a moment. "Johnny what is it that's got her legs pinned, is it the door or the dash?"

"The dash, I think the best way would be to stand on top of the hood and cut down where the dash is and maybe if we get it loose enough I can pull her out from here."

"Yeah I think you're right Gage, go ahead Chet."

Chet stood on top of the hood and started the saw again; he started cutting right where he figured the dash board would be; the contact of metal on metal created a spray of sparks.

"It shouldn't take him long to cut Johnny, how is she doing?"

Johnny checked her again, the moment he touched her wrist to find her pulse she stirred. 

"What…?" She saw the man standing on the hood and saw the sparks it was creating, she started to panic again.

Johnny saw that she was awake and trying to move. "It's okay easy now Min."

"What's going on?"

"They are cutting the dash so we can get you out, that's all."

"You mean I'm stuck?"

"A little bit yes."

She started moving a lot and Johnny knew this was a bad idea. "Take it easy Min you have to calm down and stop moving around!" His voice was a little firmer and she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Johnny saw that she was beginning to cry and he felt bad for having to yell at her a little bit. He realized how terrified she was and he reached down between them and took her hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell it's just important that you keep still, okay?"

Min wiped her face as best she could, she felt his hand holding hers and there was a strange comfort in that. "Okay, I'm sorry I panicked."

Chet shut down the K12 and two more men were on top of the hood with crowbars.

"Johnny we are going to pry the dash board."

The three men stuck the crowbars down into the square that Chet had cut; they started pushing on the bars.

"How do your legs feel Min?"

The woman was able to wiggle them a little. "I think they're looser."

 Johnny turned and stuck his arms underneath her arm pits. "Okay I'm going to pull you out now, help me as best you can."

"Okay."

The three men pushed down harder on the crowbars at the same time Johnny laced his fingers and pulled the young woman, she moved and he pulled her again as he started to back out of the car.

"How are we doing Min?"

"Good."

Johnny was out of the car and he lifted her in his arms, he put her down on the awaiting stretcher as Roy began to look her over. The young woman's legs were bloody and the bruises were already starting to form. Johnny got on the biophone and updated them on her condition. The hospital would be waiting for their arrival.

Min opened her eyes.  _"Where am I?" _

She looked around the simple white room; there was an empty bed only a few feet away, a nightstand beside her bed and a tray against the wall directly under a window. She tried to remember what had happened but when she tried everything was fuzzy; she did seem to remember bits and pieces of being inside her car. She was uncomfortable and thought about maybe changing her position, she shifted as much as she could, everything hurt and the last thing she wanted to do was cause herself more pain. She jolted herself too much and got a sharp pain in her right side.

"You really shouldn't move around too much."

Min looked up to see an older woman with blondish hair in a white uniform had come into the room. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dixie McCall; I'm head nurse here at Rampart."

Min touched her throbbing head. "Why am I here?"

The older woman walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge. "You and your brother were in a car accident."

"I don't remember that. Where is my brother?"

"He was released; he said he would be back a little later to check on you." Dixie reached out and touched the young woman's face gently; there were many small cuts and nicks on it. "What do you remember?"

Min thought about it for a moment. "Someone telling me that everything was going to be okay, this guy was sitting next to me. He said his name was Johnny and he was going to help me."

Dixie smiled. "Yeah he's a paramedic, a nice guy and a real cutie."

"I really don't remember much else, am I okay?"

"Are you in any pain?"

"My head, my side and my legs."

"Your legs were pinned in the car, that's why they hurt, you're lucky they weren't crushed. You've got fractured ribs on the right side. Your head is two things, a concussion and 10 stitches above your right eye."

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"A couple of days, just to make sure your trip down that embankment didn't do any more damage."

Min touched the bandage above her right eye. "My name is Min Duke."

"I know."

"How?"

"Johnny told me."

"Is he still here? I would like to thank him."

"No they left a little while ago on another call, but he'll probably be back. I'll be sure and relay the message."

Min nodded, feeling very sleep all of a sudden. "Thank you Ma'am."

"It's Dixie. I can see the medicine is starting to work. Why don't you get some sleep and I'll be back later to check on you?"

"Okay Dixie." 

Min didn't have to be told twice, she was asleep before the RN could leave the room.

Roy and Johnny were drinking a nice hot fresh cup of coffee in the doctor's lounge when Dixie came in for her break. 

"Ah I see you have returned." She poured herself a cup and sat down at the little round table. "You know you made _quite an impression on that young lady you brought in here."_

Johnny sat down in the seat next to her, looking puzzled. "Which young lady?" He thought about it for a second. "You mean Min?"

"That's the one, she asked me about you."

Roy sat down in the other chair. "She is quite the looker isn't she?"

Johnny nodded his head. "Yeah she was pretty as far as I could tell, her face was bloody."

"Oh she looks much better now, we cleaned her up."

"So what did she say?"

"She said she wanted to thank you, I think she wants you to come see her."

Johnny looked at his watch. "Do I have time?"

Roy and Dixie exchanged looks. "I think you have time, I'll let you know if we get a call."

He finished his coffee and got up from the table. "What room is she in Dix?"

"She's right around the corner Johnny, in 125."

"Thanks." Johnny put his coffee cup down and left the room.

Roy sighed as he sipped his coffee. "One of these days he's going to meet the girl that is going to stop him dead in his tracks."

Dixie laughed. "Yeah I know what you mean. Who knows Roy; she just might be the one to do it."

Roy shook his head as he had another sip. "Wouldn't that be something?" 

Johnny knocked on the door and peaked in, he couldn't see anything so he walked inside the room, he saw that the young woman was asleep; he turned around and started to leave the room.

"Hi…" 

He heard someone say in a low voice and he turned around and saw that she was awake. "Hi, how are you feeling?" Johnny walked casually over to the bed.

"All right I guess, I'm pretty sore in a lot of places but that's going to be normal for a while."

Johnny got a better look at the woman and Dixie was right, she did look a lot better than she did the last time he saw her. She had long dark brown hair and big brown eyes, she was of slim build and had a nice shapely figure; a very pretty girl despite the cuts on her face and neck. He realized suddenly that he was staring and he cleared his throat. 

"That's right it will be normal for a while but you could be a lot worse."

Min carefully flicked her hair away from her neck. "I know, Dr; Brackett and Dixie already told me that I could have lost my legs. I have you and the rest of the squad to thank for that."

Johnny grinned widely. "We were just doing our job that's all."

Min started to reply when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. They both turned to see Roy standing at the door holding his radio. "Johnny we have a call." He stepped out of the room and closed the door.

Johnny looked a little disappointed. "I have to go now, it's never a dull moment when you're a paramedic."

Min nodded. "So what time does the fun end?"

Johnny looked at his watch. "In about 2 hours, I get off at 6."

"If you aren't doing anything maybe we can continue our conversation."

"Sure, I'd love too. You just get some rest and I'll see you after 6."

Min smiled. "I'll be here."

Johnny raised his hand to her as he left the room.

Johnny came out of the locker room wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that read _Firefighters Association_ on the back of it with a big red fire truck in the background. Roy saw him and shook his head as he got an apple out of the fridge and sat down at the table.

"You're going back to see her aren't you?"

Johnny didn't say a word as he got himself a glass of milk. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh yeah right."

"Do I look like I'm dressed to go see someone Roy?"

"Nothing wrong with the way you are dressed Johnny."

"Well I'm just going to go home and relax Roy, that's all. I just have to make one quick stop before I do."

The rest of Min's day had been quiet, Bo had stopped by after Johnny had left and the two of them spent the next couple of hours piecing together what had happened. Min still didn't remember the accident itself but her memories of the rescue had become clearer in her mind. The siblings had talked about how wonderful the fire department had been to them both and giving them a reward. Bo had also left her a few books to read to pass the time, she was trying to read one of them lying on her side but she couldn't get comfortable enough to enjoy it. She put the book down and tried to get comfortable, when her legs started to complain.

"Can't get comfy?"

Min looked up to see Johnny was standing in the doorway. "No not really." She shifted a tiny bit towards her right side and that seemed to do the trick. "There that's better, so how was the rest of your day?"

Johnny walked into the room and sat down on the spare bed. "Oh not too bad, pretty routine."

"And what do you call routine?"

"A couple of car accidents, a woman cut herself pretty bad with a butcher knife, a kid fell off his skateboard and whacked his head."

Min shook her head. "And you call that routine?"

The paramedic started to laugh. "Well to us it's routine but I suppose to anyone else it's probably pretty exciting."

"You just missed my brother. He was here for a couple of hours after you left."

"How's he doing?"

"He's got a little cut on his head, a nice purple bruise and a lot of guilt."

Johnny put one leg up against the edge of the bed. "He'll feel better once you go home."

"That's what I said too."

"When did Dr. Brackett say you could leave?"

"Friday or Saturday, it all depends on how I'm doing."

"I'm sure you'll be out by Friday, you seem pretty strong."

"That's what my brother said too."

"Where were you going when you had the accident?"

"We were going to Long Beach to check out a couple of new bands for our night club."

Johnny sat up straight. "You own a night club?"

"Yeah, have you heard of _Skidz_?"

Johnny thought about it for a moment. "Yeah I have as a matter of fact, some of the guys talk about it all the time."

Min sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "I don't remember the accident at all. I remember before and after but not the accident itself, why is that?"

"Your head injury, the concussion, whenever you have a head trauma it's normal for there to be some amnesia concerning the injury itself."

Min yawned widely; her medication was kicking in again. "Maybe it's good that I don't remember if I did I would probably have trouble getting into a car."

Johnny looked at his watch and it was half past 7. "You're getting tired so I better let you go before Dixie gets on me for wearing you out."

"Will I see you soon?"

Johnny got up from the bed. "If you want I could come by and visit you tomorrow in between calls."

Min yawned again. "I really would like that."

"Okay then, I'll see you sometime tomorrow."

"Thanks for stopping by Johnny, good night."

Johnny grinned at her. "It was my pleasure, good night." 

Min watched him leave the room and she sighed as she leaned back in her bed, things were beginning to get interesting.

Bo showed up the next day bright and early, he had with him a bouquet of carnations. He walked into his sister's room and saw that she was reading the romance novel that he had brought for her.

"Good Morning, how are you feeling?"

Min put the book down and looked at her brother. "Better, how's your head?"

"Fine."

"Last night Bo we talked about giving the station that helped us a reward, what did you have in mind?"

Bo sat down on the spare bed and handed her the flowers. "I brought these for you."

"Aww big brother, you didn't have to do that." She took the flowers from him and sniffed them.

"I was thinking of maybe sending the station some party trays and some tickets to the club, what do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea! I'm sure the men will really appreciate it."

"Good, well I better go then so I can make the arrangements and get the tickets." Bo got up and leaned over his sister's bed, he gave the young woman a kiss on the cheek. "I'll come back a little later and see you, okay?"

"Okay, I'll be here."

Bo waved to his sister as he left the room.

It was a little after 10 when Min opened her eyes and saw that she was not alone, the paramedic was back.

"Hi."

"Hi, how long have you been here?"

"We just came in, bringing in a burn victim."

Min pointed to the spare bed. "Your seat awaits."

Johnny took off his jacket and sat down on the spare bed. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"A lot better actually, my headache is finally gone. You just missed my brother; he and I have decided to do something for the station."

Johnny looked at her. "Really? What?"

"We are going to send some party trays over tomorrow and some tickets to the club."

"The guys will really like that; it means they won't have to cook."

"We figure it's the least we can do, you guys really took good care of us."

"Like I said before we were just doing our jobs, I'm sure the guys will save me some of the food."

Min creased her brow. "Won't you be there tomorrow?"

Johnny shook his head. "I'm off tomorrow and the next day."

Now it was Min's turn to look disappointed, she thought of something and she wondered if she had the guts to ask, there was only one way to find out. "Well since you are going to miss your reward, maybe you will let me buy you dinner tomorrow night."

Johnny looked surprised by her invitation, nevertheless he smiled. "Okay dinner sounds good." He looked at his watch. "I better go, I'll stop by and see you later and if I can't then I'll be back after my shift ends."

Min nodded. "Okay, we'll talk more about dinner when I see you later."

The fireman stood up and walked towards the door. "Bye."

"Bye."

Johnny's eyes were narrowed in thought and his face was blank as he met back up with Roy. Dixie had returned to her counter and was talking to the paramedic when they saw Johnny's expression they both stopped talking. 

"Everything okay with your new friend Johnny?"

"Yeah Dix, she's better, can we have some supplies?"

"I already got them Johnny." Roy shook his head. "Well let's get back to the station. See you later Dixie."

"Bye."

The two men walked out of the Emergency doors and got back into the squad, Roy could see that something had happened; Johnny was being way too quiet.

"So what happened in there, you look like you saw a ghost or something."

Johnny shook his head. "Nothing much, she just asked me out to dinner."

"Really? And that surprised you?"

"I'll say it did, no one's ever asked me out before, and usually I'm the one that asks."

"Yeah that's true, but you aren't going to go are you? If I remember right a girl that chases you is weird in your book."

"No, I'm going to go."

Roy turned his attention from the road. "I thought you didn't like that, when a girl asks you out instead of you asking her."

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "I know I've said that but this time it was different."

"How?"

"It just is! Min is definitely not the same as Cynthia."

They arrived at the squad and Roy backed the red truck up and parked it. "So when are you two supposed to go out to dinner?"

"Tomorrow, we're going to talk about it more when I go see her tonight."

Roy shook his head. "You know I just can't figure you out sometimes, you give Cynthia the cold shoulder because she wouldn't stop calling you and wouldn't leave you alone and now this girl asks you out to dinner and you accept like it was nothing."

Johnny poured himself a cup of coffee and handed one to his partner. "I'm telling you it's different."

Roy sighed as he sipped his coffee. "You are unbelievable."

"Why?"

"Because you said there was something strange about a girl that asks a guy out, you said there had to be something wrong with her."

Johnny sat down at the table next to his partner. "Maybe I was wrong."

Roy started to laugh and shook his head. "You're admitting you're wrong? Boy she really must be something if you're admitting that."

"She is." Johnny whispered as he brought his coffee cup to his lips.

"Well young lady you seem a lot better." Dr. Brackett had checked Min over and was writing in her chart. "Your ribs are still tender, but you know they will be that way for a while."

"Yeah I know the same with my legs."

Dr. Brackett flipped back her sheet and looked at them, they were still pretty purple and he touched them gently. "I know this probably hurts, but in a little while I want you to try walking on them a little bit, okay?" 

Min flinched a little and nodded. "Well I'm expecting a visitor soon, can I wait until then?"

"Sure, but you have to try to walk sometime today, if it's still too painful we'll have to keep you another day."

"I will try before the end of the day, I promise."

Dr. Brackett smiled. "All right then, if all goes well I will see you in the morning with your release papers."

Min smiled at the doctor. "Okay, see you then, thanks Dr. Brackett."

"You're very welcome." He put his pen away, took her chart and left the room.

"So how is she doing?" Dixie was in the lounge and handed him a cup of coffee.

"She's doing good I told her she had to try and walk before the end of the day. She said she would as soon as her company arrives, I'm assuming her brother."

"Wrong assumption." 

Dr. Brackett sipped his coffee and looked at the RN. "Oh? If it's not her brother who is it then?"

Dixie smiled widely. "Johnny Gage."

The doctor looked surprise. "Johnny? That's who she's expecting? I hope that young lady doesn't mind disappointment."

"She won't be disappointed Kel, Johnny's been visiting her every chance he gets."

"Really? I bet that has several of the nurses on your staff green eyed with envy."

"Oh a few I'm sure, but they'll get over it."

"Yeah they will but what about Min?"

Dixie shook her head. "She's a tough young lady Kel, and I think she just might be what Johnny Gage needs."

The rest of Johnny's shift was pretty much normal and he got off exactly at 6. He was looking forward to having the next two days off and to another thing that surprised him, dinner with Min. He changed out of his uniform and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt; he left the station and headed for Rampart.

Min was sitting up in her bed, reading her book, she took a glance at the nearby clock and it read 6 15. She was hoping her visitor would arrive soon, she had promised to go for a walk today and time was running out. 

"Hi."

She looked up from her book to see her friend had returned. "Hi."

"Who gave you those?"

Min turned to see the vase of white carnations. "Bo did."

"That was nice of him, how are you feeling?"

"Good." She put her book down. "You are here right on time; I'm supposed to go for a walk today and I told Dr. Brackett I would go when my company arrived."

Johnny smiled and walked around to the right side of her bed. "Well company has arrived."

Min turned towards her right and pulled back her covers, Johnny saw for the first time her purple legs and he hissed through his teeth. "Wow that dash board did a number on you didn't it?"

She scooted close to the edge of the bed and looked down at the floor; it seemed to be a million miles away. Johnny saw her hesitation and he held out his hand. "Come on it'll be all right." 

Min sighed as she took his outstretched hand and carefully put one foot on the floor, it felt solid so she put the other one down. She took a deep breath and stood up, two strong bolts of pain ran up her legs and she felt unsteady. Johnny moved to her left side and took her hand in his; he took a hold of her elbow with his other hand.

"Okay let's just take it one step at a time."

Min was breathing hard, but it was out of fear more than it was out of pain. "One step at a time."

Johnny took a step and Min had no choice but to follow, she took a small step and it made her feel strong enough to follow with the other foot.

"There you go, how do your legs feel?"

"A little stiff, let's take another step."

Johnny helped her take another one and he noticed that she felt less shaky. 

"I'm going to let go now Min, try and do it on your own." He let go of her arm and stepped aside. Min took a couple of steps on her own and reached the door; she opened it and carefully stepped out into the hall. Johnny followed her out there and smiled. "Congratulations, your legs remember how to walk." He stuck his arm out. "Shall we?"

Min graciously accepted his arm and the two walked down the hall.

Dixie was doing some paper work and going over her supplies when she heard someone call out her name, she turned to see Min and Johnny walking towards her.

"Well it's good to see you up and around Min, how are the legs?"

"Fine, they still hurt from the bruises but it's not too bad."

Dixie smiled at the paramedic. "And a good evening to you Mr. Gage."

"Hi Dix, how's it going?"

"Oh fine, the usual, what about you, how's your evening been so far?"

"Good, well I better take her back to her room, see you later Dixie."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Dixie watched them walk away and she shook her head.

Johnny walked Min back to her room and they went inside, Min sat down on her bed and rubbed her legs a little bit. 

"So where do you want to have dinner tomorrow?"

Johnny sat down on the spare bed and shrugged his shoulders. "Wherever you want."

"No I'm treating you, so where do you want to go?"

He thought about it for a minute. "Ever heard of _Vicenza__'s? _

"It's that Italian restaurant, right?"

"Right they make great lasagna, how about there?"

"Italian sounds good, in fact I love Italian."

"Great, what time should I pick you up?"

"I think I'll be out of here first thing in the morning and I'll just be resting when I get home, so how about 7?"

"Okay seven it is, where do you live?"

"My address is 10532 Highland Park, apartment 3-A. Do you know where Highland Park is?"

"Sure I've been out in that area on a call."

Johnny looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 8. "Wow it's that time already? I better let you go get some rest."

Min nodded, she was getting tired. "Yeah you're probably getting tired too."

Johnny started to walk out the door when he stopped and came back to the bed, he leaned down and kissed the young woman on the cheek. "I'll see you at 7."

Min smiled. "See you at 7."

She watched him walk out the door and she smiled, her face was bright red and she could feel her cheeks burning, she couldn't wait until tomorrow night.

Min sighed as she emerged from her bedroom carrying her red-strapped high heels in her hands. She slipped them onto her feet and went once more into her room to check to see how she looked.

"I'm not going to argue with you anymore Bo, I need to go out and have a little fun, I think I've earned it."

Bo got up from the couch and chased after his sister. "Earned it? And just how do you think you've earned it?"

Min sat down at her dressing table, she picked up her brush and gave her hair some final touches. "Well let's see, on Monday we had to scramble around like chickens to find a replacement act because _High Plains Drifters got the flu, on Tuesday our liquor distributor called and said he was going to be three days late with our latest shipment of booze due to a broken truck." She took her hairspray and gave her hair a spritz before she continued. "And to top it all off we go down an embankment on Wednesday and I end up staying in the hospital for two days while you hardly get a scratch." She freshened up her lipstick, puckered her lips to make sure it was on evenly and turned to look at her brother. "Does that satisfy you? Now given all that I think I have earned this night out on the town, don't you?"_

Bo shrugged his shoulders as he took a good look at what his sister was wearing. Min was dressed in a spaghetti strapped, short red dress, her hair was put up in a French twist and she was wearing make up. Bo slowly came to realize she looked way too fancy for a simple night on the town, it suddenly dawned on him that she was not going out alone.

"So who's taking you out for this night of fun?"

Min swiveled around in her little stool and looked at herself once more in the mirror. "Who said I was going out with someone?"

Bo made a scoffing sound and shook his head. "Yeah _right like that fancy dress isn't a dead give away?"_

Min turned around in her chair and gave her brother a sly grin. "Okay so maybe I'm _not_ going out alone."

Bo crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her in that all too familiar big brotherly way. "So who is it then?"

Min got up from her chair and went into the living room to make sure that it was straight enough for company. She was adjusting the cushions on her couch when her big brother walked back into the room and sat down on her newly straightened sofa. "Bo do you mind? I'm trying to make this place look presentable."

Her brother shook his head. "Nah I don't mind a bit."

"Well I do."

Bo got up from the couch and stood in her way as she began to fix the magazines on her coffee table. "Come on now Sis, who are you going out with."

Min fixed the magazines and stood up, putting her hands were on her hips. "What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?"

Bo shook his head. "No of course not, I have nothing to torture you with." His lips drew back in a wide grin that he was all too known for and Min shook her head, there was no way he was going to let the subject go.

"All right, all right, you win. I'm going out with Johnny Gage."

Bo's smile vanished in an instant, replaced with a look of puzzlement. "Who?"

Min walked back through the living room into the kitchen to make sure that it was clean. Her big brother chased after her, his boots echoing on the tile floor was drowning out the sound of her high heels. 

"Who's Johnny Gage?" 

She didn't answer him, deciding to let the name swim around in his head for a moment or two. "Wait a second…wasn't one of the paramedics that rescued us named Gage?"

"Give that man a cigar!"

Min rinsed the last glass in her sink and put it in the drain board. She rinsed off her hands and was drying them with a dishtowel. "You are absolutely correct big brother."

Bo was leaning against the counter, looking at his sister. She put the dishtowel back in the drawer and turned to face him. 

"What? What's with the look? Are there lobsters crawling out of my nose?"

"There _might_ be or maybe that doctor of yours was wrong to send you home so soon."

Min shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "What? What is the big deal? So I'm going out with a paramedic."

Bo crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't even know him! He pulls you out of a car so that qualifies him for a date with you?"

"No and it was more than just pulling me out of a car." Min looked down at the ground for a moment, thinking back to a few days earlier. "God Bo, you weren't even _there_. They got you out right away and you were on your way to the hospital. Do you know it took them over a half hour to get me out of that sardine can? I woke up and I was all by myself. I couldn't move, I could barely breathe, I was terrified. Then there was this voice that talked to me, it told me I was going to be okay and to just hang on. That voice belonged to Johnny and he didn't just talk to me, he made me feel better, he made me feel safe, he stayed in the car with me the whole time they were trying to get me out." She paused for a moment; her mind flooding her senses with information about her time trapped in the crushed remains her of Mustang. "I guess I must have blacked out again because the second time I woke up I was even more terrified and do you know what he did? He held my hand and calmed me down, he showed kindness to me Bo when I needed it. You didn't know this but he came to see my later on that day when he and his partner came back to Rampart and then again that evening after his shift was over." Min started to laugh. "He came to see me more times then you did!" 

Bo listened to her story and nodded his head slightly. "That's good Min, I'm glad he was there for you when you needed it, but are you sure he wasn't just doing his job?"

"Maybe that first day, but after I got my room he could have disappeared and never came back but he didn't. He didn't have to keep visiting me Bo."

Bo sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair. "No I guess he didn't." The two siblings locked eyes. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't get hurt Big Brother." Min looked at the clock on the way and gasped. "Holy Smokes! You better take off, he'll be here any minute!"

"All right, call me at the club when you get home, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I'll call you with all the juicy details." She paused for a moment .

"Well maybe not _all_ the details." She flashed her brother a charming grin that made Bo laugh as he kissed her cheek. "Okay then Miss Smarty Pants, you have fun and I'll talk to you later."

Min returned his kiss and then shooed him out the door. She made one last mad dash through the house to make sure everything looked all right. She checked herself one last time in her bedroom mirror and had taken a deep breath to try and relax when a knock came at the door. She ran through the living room, looked down at herself one last time and opened the door.

Johnny Gage stood on the other side of that door; he was dressed in black jeans and a white long-sleeve shirt. His dark hair was neatly combed and the smell of his aftershave wafted in the air.

"Good evening, how are you feeling?"

Min smiled and stepped aside. "Good, a little sore still but Doctor Brackett said I will be for a while, won't you come in?"

Johnny smiled and walked through the door and into the living room. The apartment was medium sized and was decorated in the style of the Southwest. There was a beautiful Navajo rug hanging above the multicolored couch and beautiful pieces of pottery on the end tables. "This is a really nice place Min, I like the way you have it decorated."

"Thanks, I love Southwestern style."

Johnny sat down on the couch and cleared his throat. "And may I say that you look beautiful, much better than you did in that hospital gown."

Min could feel her face grow warm. "Thank you, you look really nice too." She cleared her throat, hoping her face was not glowing like a neon sign. "Shall we go? I'm starving!"

Johnny started to laugh. "Of course you are, who wouldn't be after eating hospital food for two straight days?" He opened the front door and extended his arm. "Shall we?"

Min accepted the gentlemanly gesture and smiled. "Thank you for your arm, I'll be sure to take good care of it."

The paramedic smiled at her. "Please see that you do, it would be awfully hard to call Rampart or put out a fire with only one arm."

Min laughed and shook her head as the couple headed out the door.

A short time later, Min and Johnny arrived at _Vicenza__'s, an Italian restaurant located in downtown Los Angeles. It was decorated in the style of old world Italy, there were country scenes painted on the walls, white and red checkered clothes on the tables and bottles of wine with candles sticking out of them. There was the sound of opera playing softly over the speakers. The room was framed by wooden trellises; each one had vines with grapes hanging off of them.  _

"Wow, looks very…European." 

Johnny looked around the dimly lit restaurant. "I think that's the idea Min. Come on let's get a table."

The couple was shown to a quiet table in the corner of a restaurant that was even more dimly lit. There was a candle on the table and Min took a book of matches out of her purse and lit it.

"Sorry but it's a little too dark for me, I want to eat not sleep."

Johnny laughed and nodded. "Yeah no kidding, how can you eat if you can't see your food?"

A young man made his way over to their table and cleared his throat, when the couple looked up at him, he smiled. "Good Evening folks my name is Freddy I will be your waiter this evening. Can I get you both something from the bar?"

"I'll have a glass of ice tea." 

The waiter nodded his head and turned his attention to the gentleman. "Sir?"

"The same please."

"Very good." The young man handed them each a menu. "I will return with those drinks and to take your orders."

They both nodded their heads and the young man disappeared through a pair of swinging doors. 

Min opened her menu and found what she wanted right away, the chicken parmigiana. She closed her menu and set it aside at the same time that Freddy returned to their table to deliver their drinks and to take their orders.

"Very good, I will have that out as soon as it's ready and if there is anything else you need be sure and let me know."

Freddy once more disappeared as Min added sugar and lemon to her tea.  She took a long sip of it and set it down on the table. She watched as her date simply drank it straight and she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. "Doesn't it taste bad without anything in it?"

Johnny shook his head. "Nah I like it plain, maybe with a drop or two of vanilla, gives it a nice flavor." He took another sip and cleared his throat. "So how long have you and your brother been in L.A?"

Min thought about it for a moment. "Almost two years, and it wasn't just me and my brother, our cousins are here also."

"Really? How did that happen?"

Min adjusted herself in her chair. "The four of us are from Georgia originally. We lived in a small town called Hazzard with our Uncle Jesse, after he passed on we found out that he left each of us a little bit of money and instructions to go out and make our own lives. At first we didn't know where to go or what to do. We finally decided to come to LA because a friend of ours is a Detective here. The four of us came and we each opened our own businesses. My cousin Luke owns Duke's Sporting Goods. Have you heard of it?"

"Duke's….Oh yeah! Roy and I went there not too long ago to check out fishing rods, it was a nice place."

"Our cousin Daisy opened up a boutique called Daisy's Closet and Bo and I opened Skidz. We've had a lot of success here and I'm thankful for it." She stopped for a moment and took a sip of her tea. "What about you, how long have you been a paramedic?"

"Almost 4 years." He stopped for a moment and shook his head. "Wow, that's a long time. I wasn't even sure I was going to be any good at it."

Min looked at him with wide eyes. "Really? Why not?"

"Well I guess because I really wasn't sure about it. It was Roy that convinced me to join, up until then I was perfectly happy being a fireman."

"So what made you decide to give it a try?"

"Roy, he was talking about how this would be an even better way to serve the public. It would help a lot of people that needed immediate medical attention." Johnny smiled a little. "And you know he was right, there have been some cases that wouldn't have made it if not for us being there as fast as we are and being trained to handle injuries."

"I know I might have been one of them, who knows how long I would have been trapped if it hadn't been for you and the rest of 51. I bet you see that kind of thing a lot."

Freddy came out of the big swinging doors carrying their plates, he set it down in front of them. "If there is anything else you need please let me know."

Min picked her knife and fork and began to cut her chicken parmigiana.

Johnny took a bite of his lasagna and wiped his mouth. "Actually we do, but some rescues are easier than others." 

"Was mine?"

"No yours was pretty hard, that little mustang of yours was pretty smashed."

"Yeah tell me about it, I still got the bruises to prove it."

The men of Station 51 had just sat down at the table and had begun to make their sandwiches when the alarm went off.

_Station 51, Squad 51…Warehouse fire, 2293 Belvidere…2,2,9,3 Belvidere, cross street from Vine…time out 12:04_.

Captain Stanley put down his sandwich and was on his feet in an instant; he jotted down the street and tore off the paper, handing it to Roy as the paramedic climbed into the squad. He picked up the mike. "Station 51, KMG 365."

The squad was the first out of the building followed closely by the fire truck. 

"Did you find it on the map Johnny?" Roy asked as the little red truck weaved in and out of traffic.

"Let's see Belvidere, across the street from Vine…yup here it is right here."

Johnny saw the street they just passed and checked his map. "Okay Roy take a right at the next light and Belvidere should be a few blocks down."

"You got it."

Roy turned right at the next light, which was Balboa and the minute he did, the smoke from the fire was up ahead. "Yup there it is… I see smoke."

The squad and the fire truck parked a safe distance from the burning structure. It was a three-story warehouse that looked as though hundreds of pieces of sheet metal had been bolted together. The building looked ancient, all the windows were broken out and there was smoke pouring out of them.

Captain Stanley got on the radio and called for more fire trucks to join the scene. The men had gotten on their turn coats and their ventilators and were preparing to go into the warehouse.

"All right, Chet, Marco get the hoses out and start hosing through the main door, Roy, you and Johnny take the second hose and see if you can make it onto the second floor."

Marco and Chet had taken a hose off of the fire truck and had broken down the front door, a burst of flame greeted them but they signaled for Stoker to turn on the hose. The metal door hissed loudly and a ton of smoke poured over them as the water put out the fire and after a few seconds they were able to enter the building. 

Roy and Johnny had gone into the building through the side door. The heat was intense and the two men could feel the sweat break out all over them. Roy pointed to a flight of rickety wooden stairs and they started up them. When the two men reached the top they were startled to find that the entire floor was burning. Roy turned on the hose and the two men had a strong hold of it as they swept it across the burning floor. The floor was made entirely out of wood that danced under their feet, like walking across a frozen lake, it was crunching and cracking beneath them. 

"It's getting weak, it must be the heat!"

"I know but we have to put it out Roy!"

Johnny and Roy had been blasting the floor with pressurized water for what seemed like an eternity, at last their efforts were beginning to show as slowly but surely the water began to outweigh the fire.

"We're doing good! It's almost out!" Gage shouted to his partner as they walked all the way across the room. "Just that corner is burning!" The two men walked a little further, concentrating their efforts to the far right hand corner of the floor that was still burning. Within a few seconds it was out and Roy shut off the hose. 

"We're clear! Let's go!" 

The rest of the building was still burning and the smoke was growing thicker as the two men walked back across the floor. The noise of the pressurized water and the intense smoke made vision almost impossible but luckily the two men knew which direction they had come from.

"Come on Johnny, we have to get downstairs and help them put out the rest of the fire!"

"I'm right behind you Roy, lead the way!"

Gage and DeSoto had walked halfway across the floor when the whole building began to shake. The fire had weakened the structure and the building seemed to shift and shake under them. The two firemen were thrown to the already fire beaten floor, Roy got the wind knocked out of him as he landed flat on his back. He saw a few stars flash before his eyes but he shook them off and sat up. He turned to look over his right shoulder to check to see if his partner was all right and much to his surprise he saw nothing but a jagged hole in the floor where his partner was supposed to be. He looked down through it and saw Johnny lying on his back.

Min was busy doing paperwork in her office; she was going over the schedule for the bands that were going to be playing at the club for the next two weeks. It was a tough call, all of the bands were good and they all wanted equal time but there were only so many days in the week. She sighed and dropped her pen as she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. _This is going to take me forever…She thought, her hands moved from her eyes to the back of her neck. The tension was starting to let up when the phone rang._

"Hello, Skidz." She said as she continued to massage her stiff neck.

"Min this is Roy DeSoto."

It only took a second for the name to click in her brain and the moment it did she sat straight up in her chair. "Hey Roy what's going on?" Her heart began to race, there had to be trouble.

"Min we had to take Johnny to Rampart."

Min's heart was thumping so loud she could barely hear the words that Roy had just spoken and her mouth felt as though it were filled with sand. "Is it bad Roy…is he all right?"

"I know he's got smoke inhalation and maybe a few cuts and bruises but beyond that I don't know."

Min swallowed hard. "Was he awake?"

"He was unconscious when we loaded him into the ambulance but he woke up when we got to Rampart, he asked me to call you."

"All right Roy, I'll meet you in the Emergency Room."

Min hung up the phone and grabbed her purse and keys; she ran out the door and nearly collided with her brother who was coming to see if she had finished the entertainment schedule.

"Whoa Sis whoa…where are you going?"

"Listen I ain't got time to explain Bo, Johnny is at Rampart and I need to go, the schedule is on my desk, it's not done yet but it's going to have to wait."

Bo nodded his head. "Don't worry about it, I'll finish it." He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them a little. "I'm sure he's fine Min; call me when you find out for sure." He gave his sister a kiss on the cheek and she was gone in a flash.

Min made it to the hospital in less than ten minutes, she was lucky enough to find a parking spot right across the street from the Emergency entrance. She ran through the doors and rounded the corner to the information desk where she saw the familiar face of Nurse Dixie McCall. The older woman was going over some information on a chart when she saw the out of breath young woman.

"Hey Min, what are you doing here?"

It took her a moment to catch her breath. "Roy called me at the club; he said that Johnny was here."

Dixie saw the concern in the young woman's eyes and something else. She smiled as she came out from around the counter and took her by the hand. "He's fine Min…only a little smoke inhalation and a bruise or two. Come on, he's in number 2."

Dixie took Min down the hall and pushed open the swinging door. Johnny was standing beside the table putting back on his t-shirt and listening to Dr. Brackett tell him that he was all right. Dixie cleared her throat.

"Mr. Gage I believe you have a visitor." 

The registered nurse leaned in close and whispered to the young woman. "Go on Min, go kick his behind for making you worry."

Johnny fixed his t-shirt and turned to see who Dixie was talking about; when he was his girlfriend he gave her his most charming grin. "Hey…"

Min wanted so much to be angry at the young fireman who had scared a decade off of her life but when she saw that grin of his, her anger evaporated, it was replaced by pure relief.

"Johnny Gage I should kick your butt for scaring me!" She put her arms around his neck.  "But I'm so glad that you're all right."

Johnny smiled as he rubbed her back. "I'm fine, just a little too much smoke is all, I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well you did, when Roy called me I thought the worst."

Dr. Brackett and Dixie were watching this little scene unfold and they kept shooting each other inquisitive looks. 

"He's fine Miss Duke and very lucky, he could have gotten seriously hurt."

Min finally let go of her boyfriend and turned to address the doctor. "It's Min Dr. Brackett, please."

"All right then Min, why don't you take him home and make sure that he takes it easy for the rest of the night. He's got a couple of bruises on his back and he probably will cough for at least a day or two from all the smoke."

"Oh I can guarantee that he is going to go home and take it easy for the rest of the night." Min watched as Johnny slowly put on his blue button down shirt. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah just fine, my back's a little stiff and sore."

"Don't worry I'll massage it when we get home."

He finished buttoning his shirt and adjusted his collar. "Okay I'm ready to go."

Min took his hand and held it firmly. "I wonder what happened to Roy; I was supposed to meet him in the ER."

"Roy went to call his wife; he had just stepped away when you showed up."

Min nodded. "Thanks Dixie, come on Johnny let's go find him."

The couple left the room and Dr. Brackett and the RN looked at each other.

"Did you see that Dix? I believe one half of our favorite paramedic team is smitten."

Dixie couldn't help but smile. "So I see it's about time he settled down."

Roy was waiting at Dixie's desk and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Min had found his partner.

"There you are! I thought for a minute that you weren't going to show up."

"Dixie said that I had just missed you." Min squeezed the hand that she was holding. "Honey do you need me to take you back to 51?"

"Yeah I have to get my Rover and I need to pick up my uniforms, they need to be washed."

"That's no problem I have a washer and dryer back at my place and I can iron them too if you want."

Johnny smiled and kissed Min's cheek. "No that's all right, the washing and drying will make them pretty wrinkle free. Come on we better get going."

Roy looked at his watch, it was half past 6. "Wow it's after 6, our shift is over Johnny."

"That's good; I'm too beat and beat up to go out on any more calls. We'll see you back at the station Roy."

"Okay see ya later."

Roy arrived back at Station 51 and parked the squad; he yawned as he got out of it. It had been a tough day with a lot of calls and he was beginning to feel it. _A nice hot cup of coffee will make me feel better. He made sure the truck compartments were closed tightly and made his way from the garage into the kitchen. He opened a cabinet and took out his brown mug and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the stove._

A group of his fellow firefighters was watching television in the living room; Roy could hear the television but was not ready to join the rest of the squad.

"Hey Roy, where's Gage? I thought you were with him when he got taken to Rampart?" 

Roy turned to see that Chet had come out of the living room to see who had returned to the station.

"He'll be along in a minute or two Chet."

Chet looked at Roy inquisitively. "Oh yeah? And just how is he going to manage that since you are the one that took him down there? Was it he going to do… walk?"

"No, he's got a ride."

Chet crossed his arms over his chest. "A ride, from whom?"

Roy took another sip of his coffee and smiled slightly. "From his girlfriend."

Chet's eyes grew round. "Girlfriend? You mean that one that we rescued from that tuna can?"

"Yeah that's the one."

The sound of a vehicle pulling up to the station and the sound of two doors slamming stopped their conversation in an instant. Johnny came into the kitchen from the garage side door, holding the hand of the girl that Squad 51 had pulled out of a badly crushed car only 6 weeks earlier. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a red tank top.

"Hey sorry we're late but Min got a little lost on the way over."

Min's mouth dropped as she swatted his shoulder with her other hand. "You lie! You are the one that told me the wrong street!"

"That's Johnny for you." Roy said as he refilled his coffee. "Sometimes it's a miracle we don't get lost on the way to a call."

Johnny started to reply when he saw Chet staring at him; his manners suddenly came back to him. "Oh! I'm sorry, Chet Kelly this is Min Duke."

Min let go of Johnny's hand and shook the outstretched hand of the dark, curly haired fireman. "It's nice to meet you Chet."

"Same here, the rest of the guys are watching TV. Johnny, do you want me to get them?"

Johnny shrugged his shoulders and turned to his companion. "Do you mind?"

Min shook her head. "Oh not at all, it'll give me a chance to see how they enjoyed the food, and besides the last time I saw them wasn't under the best circumstances."

Chet disappeared through a door and came out with three other men, all of whom were surprised to see the young woman that Johnny was obviously with.

"Okay Min Duke, this is Captain Stanley, Marco Lopez, and Mike Stoker."

Each man took a turn shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you Min, and I must say you look a lot better now then you did inside that car."

Min could feel her face grow warm. "Thanks Captain Stanley. I wanted to come by and see how you all liked the trays my brother and I sent over."

"You sent them?" Marco piped up. "You sent the tickets to that club too?"

Min nodded. "I sure did, my brother and I own that club and we figured that the food and the tickets was the least we could do to thank all of you for taking such good care of us."

Marco's eyes grew wide. "That's a great club! Me and some friends were there last weekend, we had a blast."

Chet looked surprised. "Really Marco? It was that much fun?"

"It sure was…great music, lots of pretty girls and the drinks were not expensive either, you should check it out."

Chet nodded his head. "Maybe I will."

Min smiled. "That's great, come on down any night, I promise you'll have fun." She turned her attention back to Johnny and took his hand. "Are you ready to go?"

Johnny suddenly remembered why they had stopped by the station. "Oh, no hold on a second let me go get my uniforms."

He left the room for a second and all the firemen present shook their heads. They all finally understood why Johnny Gage had been walking on air the past 6 weeks; the reason was standing in their kitchen.

Roy offered Min a cup of coffee. "Here ya go Min you'll be needing this, he usually takes forever."

Min took the coffee and leaned against the counter next to Roy. The three firemen she had met cleared their throats. "Well we are going to go back and finish our movie; it was nice to meet you Min."

"Same here, enjoy your movie."

Everyone left the kitchen except for Roy and Min. He got tired of standing and pulled out a chair. "Here why don't you have a seat?"

Min accepted it and added some sugar and cream to her coffee. "Did Johnny tell you about having dinner with you and JoAnne?"

Roy nodded. "He mentioned something this morning about having dinner at your apartment instead of going out."

Min nodded. "Right I figured it might be better than going to some crowded over priced restaurant."

"I'll tell her and then we'll try and figure out when we can get together."

"Well any night is fine with me; my brother will just have to handle the club alone that night."

Johnny came back into the kitchen with a dark blue garment bag. "Okay I got them, let's go."

Min finished her coffee and stood up. "Well I'll see you later Roy, tell JoAnne I said hi and let me know when you want to have dinner."

Roy nodded. "Okay I will Min; you two have a nice night."

Johnny held the door open for her and when she walked by him he grinned widely at his partner. "Oh we will Pally, see you in the morning."

The door closed and Roy shook his head. _Unless I am mistaken, Johnny Gage is in love…_

The couple arrived back at Min's apartment and the first place she went was the kitchen, she pulled back a pair of sliding doors to reveal her washer and dryer. She took all of Johnny blue shirts out of the garment bag and put them to wash. She was about to close the machine when she remembered one more blue shirt. 

"Johnny let me have that shirt you're…" She stopped in mid sentence and a small smile broke out onto her lips.  Her companion was lying on her couch, his eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping. She walked over to the couch and knelt by his head.

"Johnny…" She reached out and gently stroked his hair. His eyes opened and she leaned over and kissed him. "I'm sorry to wake you Sweetie but the machine is going and I want the shirt you're wearing."

Johnny yawned and rubbed his face; he sat up slowly and unbuttoned his shirt. "Here ya go, one slightly cooked shirt off of one slightly cooked fireman."

Min took it and stroked his hair again. "Do you want me to make you something to eat or should I just rub your back down like I said I would?"

Johnny turned his head and looked at her. "I think rubbing me down would hit the spot better than some chow right now."

"Okay, come on." She stepped back and offered him her hand, he took it and she pulled it up. "Let me just go put this in the machine. You go ahead and go into my room."

Johnny nodded and headed for her bedroom while Min made a quick trip to the kitchen, she tossed his shirt into the machine and was about to leave when she remembered her brother had asked her to call him. She picked up the phone and dialed the office number.

"Hello Skidz…"

"Hey Big brother it's me."

"Hey Min, how is he?"

"Oh he's fine Bo, a little bruised and smoky but other than that he's going to live."

Bo sighed on the line. "That's good, where is he?"

"He's here; I'm going to give him a little TLC, Doctor Brackett's orders."

"Uh huh, I'm sure you are just following orders."

Min smiled. "I am! Well I gotta go Bo I'll see you in the AM."

"All right Sis, tell Johnny I said I'm glad he's okay."

"I will, bye."

"Bye."

Min hung up the phone and walked through the living room to her bedroom, the room was growing dark due to the setting sun so she flipped on the over head light; what she saw when the darkness was lifted made her gasp. Johnny was lying on her bed, he had fallen asleep again and Min wondered how he could have. Doctor Brackett had said that there was going to be some bruises on his back but she had not expected almost his entire back to be purple. She went into her bathroom and came out with a tube of Ben Gay and took off her shoes, she climbed onto the bed and kneeled beside her boyfriend.

"Johnny? Does your back hurt a lot?"

It took him a moment or two to wake up and answer her.

"Some, why?"

She leaned over and gently touched one of the larger areas, he flinched when she did that. "Because almost your whole back looks like a grape. Do you still want me to rub it?"

"Yeah I do."

"Okay." Min opened the tube and put a quarter-sized dollop of the Ben-Gay on her palm, she rubbed both her hands together and scooted closer to the injured back. She leaned over and started with his shoulders and began to work her way down. 

Johnny sighed as she worked the tension out of his shoulders and neck. "Min you have magical hands."

Min couldn't help but chuckle. "Thanks, I was told I give great massages." She worked her way down to his shoulder blades. "Do you have any idea what you landed on?"

"No, to tell you the truth I don't even remember falling, one minute I was behind Roy and the next thing I know I'm in the back of an ambulance."

Min sighed as her hands worked the stiffness out of the muscles in the center of his back. "Roy said you asked him to call me."

Johnny was quiet for a moment. "Yeah I did…I didn't know how bad I was hurt."

Min was almost done with the massage; she was just working out one last stiff muscle in his lower back. When it felt much looser, she got off the bed to wash her hands, she came out of the bathroom wiping her hands on a towel. Johnny had turned on his side and he stretched out his hand to her.

"Come here."

She threw the towel back into the bathroom and took the outstretched hand; it pulled her onto the bed. Many things were going through the young woman's mind and Johnny could tell that he was the cause of them. He touched her chin and turned her face to meet his eyes. 

"Hey now, no need for that frown, it'll take more than a weak floor to take this fireman out of the game."

Min was peering into those dark brown eyes and she saw the truth in them. "I know, but it still scared me, I don't want to lose you."

His face grew serious. "You aren't going to lose me Min, that's a promise." He sat up and drew her to him, holding her against his chest as he stroked her hair.  

Min sighed as she listened to the thumping of his heart; it was a soothing sound that made the events of the day wash out of her mind. "I'm going to hold you to that promise."

"It's a deal." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

END.


End file.
